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Police seeking driver in QEW hit and run

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An 11-year-old boy is dead after he was thrown from a mini van involved in a hit-and-run crash on the Queen Elizabeth Way early Tuesday morning.

Two other people travelling in the Ford Aerostar van suffered critical injuries when it was rear-ended by a white Volvo tractor trailer around 2:30 a.m. between Ontario St. and Bartlett Ave. in Beamsville, Niagara OPP Staff Sgt. Jan Idzenga said. Six other passengers in the van were treated at hospital for non-life threatening injuries, he said.

“The tractor trailer has fled the scene,” Idzenga said, noting it will have damage on the front passenger side.

OPP Sgt. Dave Woodford said police are searching for the driver, using video surveillance footage from the border, weigh stations and truck stops.

“There’s no doubt in my mind he knew he hit something,” Woodford said of the driver.

Police said it appears the transport rear-ended the van, causing it to ram into a metal guardrail, roll and come to rest on the driver’s side near a fence beside the North Service Rd. Some of the people inside were thrown from the vehicle.

“It was a tragic scene when you see the severity of the damage,” Woodford said. “That vehicle was ripped right apart.”

He said there weren’t enough seatbelts for the nine passengers in the seven-seat van. He said it’s unclear how many of those riding in the van weren’t buckled up or if the 11-year-old boy was restrained.

Senior vice-president of the Ontario Tucking Association Stephen Laskowski said his office was contacting the police for a detailed description of the truck being sought. He said the description would be provided to members in a bulletin.

He said truckers have called the association to express outrage that a driver would leave the scene of a crash.

“It’s quite a disgusting act,” Laskowski said. “This is not how professional truck drivers behave.”

Long, black skid marks were still visible on the roadway and a trail of debris led from the highway to the van, which police were removing at 9:30 a.m. Traffic reconstructionists were on the scene all morning Tuesday. The Toronto-bound lanes reopened shortly before 11 a.m.

Woodford said Hungarian-speaking OPP officers were called in to assist with the investigation as there was a language barrier between officers and the van’s occupants. It’s unclear if all of the people in the vehicle are related. Their names and ages haven’t been released.

Police, fire and EMS responded to the crash along with three air ambulances. Traffic was snarled in the Toronto-bound lanes all the way to Jordan Rd. as motorists attempted their morning commutes. There was also a lengthy wait to exit the highway at Victoria Ave.

The investigation continues and OPP ask anyone who witnessed the collision or spots the damaged white Volvo transport truck to call Const. Scott Orsan at the Niagara OPP detachment at 905-356-1311.

Fatalities on Niagara roads this year.

• 15 - the number of fatalities on roadways patrolled by Niagara Regional Police so far this year.

• 10 - the number of fatalities caused by vehicle crashes on roads in the NRP’s jurisdiction.

• 3 - the number of fatal collisions on local highways patrolled by Niagara OPP.UPDATE: The Toronto-bound QEW has reopened between Ontario St. in Beamsville and Bartlett Ave. in Grimsby following a deadly crash early this morning. OPP closed the highway for approximately eight hours to investigate the cause of the collision.